After much research into family cars, we have settled upon on the Ford territory as the car we want. Fits the budget and we can't find a better alternative yet as we need a 7 seater.
The next thing we can't decide on our own is if we get the petrol version or the diesel variant? We are looking at keeping the car for at least 3 years. Looking at the current prices of both petrol and diesel, what do you experts suggest would be the best buy?
Out of interest….. extra purchase price?? servicing costs same or more?
"switch to manual shift if you want to race kugars at the lights"
I thought you had typed Klugers there for a moment… :-)
Don't bother… VW vs Ferrari kinda thing.
it comes down to how much more is the diesel, comparing service costs, insurance costs, resale value and depreciation (diesels tend to do a bit better i think?) and working out how much you will save in the long run. i personally own a diesel and like it. but i heard the new petrol engines coming out have just as much torque as the diesels now (don't take my word though its only hearsay and speculation)
test drive them both. take them both for a good test drive to see which you prefer as both i'd presume would offer a slightly difference driving experience
You should see at least 50-75% more kms out of the diesel tank as the same size petrol tank.
YMMV, but I am typically getting 750-900km to a diesel tank, where as the same petrol variant will probably get you around 450-500km. (im not specifically talking about the Territory) but this has proven to save me $$$.
Both cars in my family are diesel and I will avoid going to petrol.
The diesels are also usually have more torque, which is important when carrying a full load of family.
They often generate as much torque as the V8s, with 4cyl fuel economy.
Thanks for the responses so far. I have concluded the next step now is to take a test drive of both versions. And is it OK to judge from above that the diesel will hold its value longer than the petrol?
Also, what are some other things I should look for in terms of maintenance? I only know I will have to add on insurance + rego + servicing (which I believe is capped for Ford). Any other differences between the petrol and the diesel?
We bought a Titanium Diesel back in 2011. Bear in mind this was a $60k car when we bought it.
PROS - Love the economy, torque and refinement of the diesel engine just a shame the rest of the car is a piece of shit.
CONS - It's only done 39,000 kms and has had an annoying clunk somewhere in the driveline since day 1 that Ford cannot find the cause of, it's been back at least 6 times and still Ford are scratching their heads. It's had the Fuel Pump replaced, DVD Player replaced twice - seriously a roof mounted DVD Player in Australia, as soon as the car gets hot the player doesnt work, the Internal Command Centre went into meltdown mode rendering the whole system unusable and the climate control external sensor recently malfunctioned resulting in yet another warranty repair.
No wonder Ford are stopping production in this Country.
C250 Diesel Mercedes for our next family truckster.
For what its worth:
Territory Diesel is an older (LandRover) engine but will be much better economy on longer trips - benefits decrease in urban traffic and short trips.
Territory Petrol will be punchier off the line but use more fuel - particularly under load.
Trim levels are the same between engines.
AWD only available with diesel, RWD available with both.
Big thing for me when we bought 12 months ago was that the 3rd row is a bench seat - ie both up, or both down.
If you've got 1 kid in the back you still need to put the whole row up and so you lose boot space.
We really wanted a Territory but this was a deal breaker for us as we couldn't fit the pram in as well.
We ended up buying a Mazda CX9 which has individual seats and we can still fit the pram in behind with both seats up!
We are very happy with it and would buy again.
Unfortunately, no diesel option though - we have averaged 12.4 L/100km over 22000km
For any one else reading this topic looking for information, the diesel variant is fantastic for towing. Although I have not towed with the petrol variant as a comparison. All I can say is that it was a pleasure to tow with. On the freeway, I often forgot I was towing something.
More info: My friends get about 9.2L/100km around town. And while towing a car on a fairly small car trailer, I managed to get just below 12.5L/100km while travelling at 110km/h
I have a territory diesel brilliant car you'd barely notice it was a diesel.
I live I Sydney so mine is pretty much an urban wagon. Does @10.6 litres per 100km I've done 15k on the engine so far diesel prices are generally a little cheaper or the same a premium 95 octane petrol.
Vs a petrol ive only had a brief drive of the petrol when i brought mine petrol is a lot quicker off the mark and feels nice grunty
Diesel is a little sluggish off the mark but you could always switch to manual shift if you want to race kugars at the lights but once the engine hit 1800 rpm you really feel the torque kick in and it really takes off.
I'm planning to keep mine for 5 years so hoping diesel will have a higher resell which it seems to at the moment